Uber approached Rapido in May with a proposal to combine their India ride-hailing businesses under Rapido's management team. Rapido countered with an offer to buy Uber's India operations outright through a cash-and-stock deal that would have left Uber holding a minority stake in the Bengaluru company, and the talks ended there. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber's chief executive, spent five days in India from 12 May meeting government officials, business partners and Uber staff, and he also sat down with Rapido co-founder and chief executive Aravind Sanka. A combined entity would have held the leading position in bike taxis, autos and cabs at the same time, across more than 400 Indian cities.In public, Rapido rejects the account in full, with a spokesperson saying the company "has no such plans and remains focused on independently building and scaling its mobility business in India". Uber declined to comment on market speculation or on private conversations with industry participants. Both responses leave the commercial logic that put the two sides in a room in May standing. That logic sits in the FY25 accounts of both companies.About The AuthorAt heart, I am a storyteller drawn to the watershed moments that bend the technology landscape. I braid narrative with data, humanise statistics, and trace the arc from first spark to world-changing impact. My reportage, features and reviews are witty, sardonic, visual and vivid, using anecdote to illuminate rather than eviscerate.